Part of Mars broke off and fell on Earth. It has revealed a big secret

Eleven million years ago, an asteroid slammed into Mars, scattering fragments of the red planet into space. One of these Martian chunks eventually made its way to Earth and crashed here.

In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have determined that liquid water was present on Mars 742 million years ago, thanks to the meteorite found at Purdue University.

The Lafayette Meteorite, a chunk of Mars, has provided crucial insights into the Red Planet’s geological history.

An international team of researchers, including scientists from Purdue University’s College of Science, has published their findings in Geochemical Perspective Letters.

The study, led by Marissa Tremblay, assistant professor in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue, used noble gases to date minerals in the meteorite that formed through interaction with liquid water on Mars.

The team’s analysis revealed that these minerals formed 742 million years ago, a time when liquid water was not believed to be abundant on Mars’ surface. Instead, researchers theorise that the water came from melting subsurface permafrost, likely caused by periodic magmatic activity that continues on Mars to this day.

The Lafayette Meteorite’s journey began 11 million years ago when an asteroid impact on Mars sent it hurtling through space. It eventually landed on Earth near Purdue University and was rediscovered in a drawer there in 1931, earning its name.

Ryan Ickert, a senior research scientist at Purdue and co-author of the study, emphasized the uniqueness of this meteorite, stating, “This meteorite uniquely has evidence that it has reacted with water. The exact date of this was controversial, and our publication dates when water was present.”

The research team also demonstrated that their age determination was robust, unaffected by the meteorite’s violent journey from Mars to Earth. This includes the impact that ejected it from Mars, its 11-million-year space voyage, and its fiery entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

This discovery not only sheds light on Mars’ geological past but also highlights the importance of meteorites as cosmic time capsules.

As Tremblay explains, these extraterrestrial rocks carry valuable data that can be unlocked by geochronologists, offering unique insights into the history of our solar system.

The Lafayette Meteorite continues to be a source of fascination and scientific discovery, bridging the gap between Earth and Mars and providing crucial information about the Red Planet’s watery past.